Oxford and Orazio Cogno, the Italian Choirboy

In 1580-81, in letters directed to members of the Privy Council,
Henry Howard and Charles Arundel accused Oxford, among numerous
other crimes including multiple instances of pederasty, of having
sodomized an Italian servant of his named Auratio or Horatio,
who, they reported, had left Oxford's employ without Oxford's
permission, citing sexual abuse as his reason.

The identity of this Italian servant and many details of his life
with Oxford are verified by a deposition which he gave to the
Inquisition on 27 August 1577, shortly after his return to
Venice. He was then seventeen, which means that when Oxford
picked him up in early 1576, he was fifteen or sixteen.

The deposition reveals that the servant's full name was Orazio
Cogno. "Millort de Voxfor," who attended the Greek Church in
Venice (not a Greek Orthodox church, but rather a church known as
a haven of unorthodoxy), first noticed Orazio singing at the
church of S. Maria Formosa. Orazio consulted his father
(Francisco Cogno) and his mother about the earl's subsequent
invitation to accompany him back to England, and they advised him
to accept. Orazio moved into Oxford's house in Venice on "Zuoba
Grassa," the Thursday before the beginning of Lent, which in 1576
fell on 1 March; the party left Venice for England on the
following "luni de carneval," or Monday before Ash Wednesday,
that is, on 5 March.

Orazio spent 11 months in England, presumably from April 1576
to March (or perhaps only February) 1577, living in Oxford's
house in London "per Paggio" (as a page). Since Oxford let
everyone in his household live as he wished ("el lassava viver
tuti a suo modo"), Orazio could live as a Catholic, attending
mass "in the houses of the ambassadors of France (the famous
Michael de Castelnau, Seigneur de Mauvissiere) and of Portugal."

In Venice and on the outbound journey through Italy and France,
Oxford's entourage ate fish on Catholic fast days. In England,
Oxford and his household ate meat on fast days, but Orazio was
allowed to eat fish, as were 2 other servants in the household
who were Catholics. (According to Orazio, Oxford "does not live
as a Catholic.")

Although Orazio served Oxford officially as a page, he was by
profession a musician. On one occasion he sang before Queen
Elizabeth, who urged him to convert to the reformed religion. In
London he made the acquaintance of "Ambroso da Venetia," "che e
musicho della Regina de ingelterra" (who is a musician to the
queen), and with five brothers from Venice who were "musici della
Regina et fano flauti et viole" - evidently members of the
extensive Bassano family.

Orazio reported that Oxford "speaks Latin and Italian well."

Orazio was being interrogated on suspicion of heresy; the
question of sodomy did not arise during the trial. Nevertheless,
the general circumstances of Orazio's residence in Oxford's house
during Oxford's complete separation from his wife, Ann Cecil, are
fully compatible with the testimony of Henry Howard and Charles
Arundel.

In one particular the fit is exact. Orazio was
asked by the inquisitors, "Did you obtain the conte's licence to
leave?" Orazio replied (without further elaboration), "No: he
would not have allowed me to leave." This statement correlates
perfectly with the testimony of Howard and Arundel that Orazio
had left Oxford's employ without Oxford's permission, citing
sexual abuse as his reason. Oxford may have had a psychological
need, but he had no legal right to deny Orazio permission to
leave his employ at any time.

The Orazio trial is recorded in Venice, Archivio di Stato, Santo
Uffizio, busta 41, fasc. 'Cocco Orazio'; this present summary is
based on notes, as the original is currently (August
1996) not accessible for inspection.